CVE-2026-86145VulnerabilityPublished 5 Sep 2026Updated 3 Nov 2026

PCRE2 before 10.48 allows a pcre2_dfa_match out-of-bounds write because reuse of a cached workspace block, in a

Affects pcre2Source GCVE Database

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-86145· High 8.2

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.2 High.

Data as of 3 Nov 2026, 23:35 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.2High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: High
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 5 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 3 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Ubuntu 26.10pcre2`pkg:deb/ubuntu/pcre2?arch=source&distro=stonking`Other threats	Affected =10.46-1build1 =10.46-1ubuntu1	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSpcre2`pkg:deb/ubuntu/pcre2?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected =10.46-1 =10.46-1build1 =10.46-1ubuntu0.1	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSpcre2`pkg:deb/ubuntu/pcre2?arch=source&distro=noble`Other threats	Affected 10.42-4 – 10.42-4ubuntu2.2 5 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 22.04 LTSpcre2`pkg:deb/ubuntu/pcre2?arch=source&distro=jammy`Other threats	Affected 10.37-0ubuntu2 – 10.39-3ubuntu0.2 5 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTSpcre2`pkg:deb/ubuntu/pcre2?arch=source&distro=esm-infra/focal`Other threats	Affected 10.32-5 – 10.34-7ubuntu0.1+esm1 4 affected builds	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Until a fix is applied, avoid processing untrusted or attacker-controlled regular expressions, especially those using recursive patterns or with constrained heap limits.

Description

PCRE2 versions before 10.48 contain a vulnerability in the pcre2_dfa_match function that allows an out-of-bounds write due to reuse of a cached workspace block without proper size checks. This flaw requires an attacker-controlled regular expression or a recursive pattern combined with a small heap limit set via the API. The vulnerability has a high severity with a CVSS score of 8.2, indicating a significant risk of integrity impact and low availability impact.

Impact

Successful exploitation can result in an out-of-bounds write, potentially allowing an attacker to alter memory contents, leading to integrity violations and partial service disruption. There is no indication of confidentiality impact. The vulnerability does not require privileges or user interaction and can be triggered remotely via crafted regular expressions.

Summary

The vulnerability in PCRE2 before version 10.48 involves an out-of-bounds write in the pcre2_dfa_match function. This occurs because the reuse of a cached workspace block in a recursive DFA matching workspace lacks a size check, unlike newly allocated blocks which do have such checks. Exploitation requires an attacker to supply a crafted regular expression or use a recursive pattern with a constrained heap limit configured through the API. The flaw can lead to integrity compromise and partial denial of service.

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Nov 2026, 23:35 UTC

Technical details

References

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